PR Daily’s Visual and Infographics Awards 2016

PR Daily’s Visual and Infographics Awards recognize visual communications experts at the forefront of the industry. We want to find the artists behind the mobile apps, marketing campaigns and social media accounts that people can’t stop talking about. Does your organization’s incredible photography deserve more praise than it gets? Can you make overwhelming data simple and interesting with infographics? How did you use art to relay a message that speaks without words? Why was your design the most influential and essential element of a project?

Work created for both internal and external audiences will be considered. We have over a dozen categories that cover the most important topics and trends in visual communication.

No matter what subject you created your design for, we want to see your skills!

Show us that your visual design or infographic has what it takes to be the best of the year. Check out last year’s winners here.

These awards are open to in-house, agency and independent communication practitioners in the private, corporate, nonprofit and government sectors. Enter your work, the work of your organization or submit entries on behalf of your client.

Companies from around the world are welcome to enter, however the entry must be submitted in English.

This year’s program is open to any work executed between Jan. 1, 2015 and Nov. 15, 2016.

A late fee of $100 per entry will be added to all entries submitted after Wednesday, Jan. 4 at midnight CST. Early bird submissions must be received by Dec. 14 AT 11:59 PM CST to be eligible for the discount.

One complimentary registration to any Ragan event, webcast, or conference within 12 months of winning

The winners of the Grand Prize categories also will receive a one-year membership to Ragan Training—a premium online training library featuring hundreds of hours of the very best content from Ragan events. Find out more about the site here: http://ragantraining.com/.

Cinemagraph NEW!

You like to surprise your audience. You didn’t ask them to watch a long, explanatory video. You avoided flashy GIFs. Instead, you told your brand’s story subtly with an elegant cinemagraph. Tell us how this new medium increased your click-through rate or Instagram likes. Why was a cinemagraph the best medium for displaying your brand or product? What metrics did you use?

Complex Data-Based Infographic

Did you rise to the challenge when you were asked to turn intimidating data into an elegant infographic? We want to see how you found a story in numbers and used design to tell it. Did you make boring statistics interesting with your creative and interactive design? Tell us how your infographic made overwhelming information engaging and valuable.

Internal Communications Design

Show us how you inspired your workforce to act. Did you use interactive design to explain a new benefits plan to employees? Did you use gamification to entice employees to complete a boring training session? Tell us how your internal communication benefitted from an updated visual design. Show us how you got routinely disregarded messages noticed and read using visual design.

Marketing or PR Design

The best marketing campaigns would seem incomplete without design. We want to see how your design gave your campaign staying power. Why were your visuals the most influential part of your campaign? How did design help you execute your vision? Did your design change the public perception of your client or company? Tell us how you met (or exceeded) company or client goals thanks to design. Back up your creative idea with metrics.

Social Impact Design

Your design or infographic did more than generate buzz. It incited social change. Tell us the cause you’re passionate about. Was it environmental-, education-, or human rights-oriented? How did design bring the issue to the forefront of public consciousness? Why was design essential to educating your community about important issues? We welcome submissions from agencies, corporate and non-profit organizations. And don’t forget the results!

Social Media Design

Social media by design speaks to the masses, but your message could be easily missed. How did design set your social media content apart from your competitors’? Did your visuals generate tons of likes, shares and comments? How did you figure out what content would appeal to your audience? Show us how you used social media to become a thought leader in your industry. Why were your profiles the go-to pages for your audience? Did your design enhance your entire profile or was it used to generate buzz for a campaign? Show us your visuals and impressive metrics.

Website Design

Your website sets the digital experiences your audience will associate with your brand. How did your website design impress them? Was this an initial web launch for a new product or a complete image overhaul for an organization or client? How did your design boost traffic? Were you able to turn your website into a digital destination? We want to see proof of a beautiful and functional website that engages and retains visitors.

Digital Design

What makes your design eye catching? Show us your most appealing creations that interested people in your brand. What was the purpose of your design? How did it change? Did you use it for emails, ads or a special campaign? Tell us the details and don’t forget to include metrics.

Illustration or Animated Design

Animations and illustration are anything but low brow. Done right, they straightforwardly explain complicated concepts. Why were animated characters the right medium for your message? What did you design? Did your illustrations and animations grace a video, infographic or something else? Tell us about the story you created for your characters and how they met your goals.

Interactive Installation Design NEW!

We want to see designs that moved beyond print or digital. Did you create an installation to make an event, activation or guerilla marketing campaign more interactive? Show us how you used design, technology or other elements to pique interest. How did your installation tell your brand’s story? Did your design elicit joy or surprise? Did it raise awareness about a cause or social issue? How did your users interact with it? Did it generate social media buzz or media attention? Show us what you created.

Mobile App Design

Loyal consumers live on mobile apps. What did you do to make yours stand out? Did you redesign your app to make it more user-friendly? What improvements did you make to previous versions? Did you add new features that users loved? Tell us what they said about their experience with the app. We want to see metrics, feedback – and, of course, the app design.

Photography

Stunning photography displays human experiences from a new perspective. It incites passion, emotion, action and speaks for your brand like few other things can. How did you use photography to portray your campaign, project or organizational message? What was your goal? How did photography affect your results?

Print Design

We know print is alive and well, but we want to see how you kept its blood pumping. Show us how you brought your message to life with your design of print materials. Why was print the best medium for your design? How was your print design displayed? Was it a post card or a billboard? Was it for an internal or external audience? We want to recognize your work in the industry’s most traditional design medium.

Typography & Hand Lettering NEW!

You’re a designer who hasn’t forgotten about the power of words. Tell us how typography or hand lettering created a strong brand identity for your organization or client. Did you refresh a brand’s logo or create one-of-kind promotional materials? How did your unique typefaces or hand lettering persuade new audiences to embrace your client? Before and after photos will sell your case. Show us how you mastered serifs or Sakura Pigma Brush pens to create art that talks.

GRAND PRIZE Visual Design of the Year

Tell us the story behind your stunning visual design. How did you use visual art to communicate an idea, cause or product? Was your design informative, powerful or humorous? Show us your top-tier design. What was the design for? What was its effect? Prove that you possess originality that instantly arrests attention.

GRAND PRIZE Infographic of the Year

You found the perfect balance between informational and interesting. How did your design capture an audience? Show us how you simplified the information that inspired your infographic. How did you make a mass of data digestible? What made your infographic stand out in a crowded space?

On the entry form, be sure to include a thorough synopsis explaining the purpose and scope of your project. We ask that the synopsis be at least 1,000 words (max: 1,250 words) and include the following sub-headings (when applicable):

Goals

Strategy and tactics

Execution

Evaluation: success, results or ROI

Be sure to follow the guidelines laid out in the category descriptions as the judges will look for those items when they pick the winners.

Supporting documents that can't be uploaded to the system should be mailed to:

Are the awards open to organizations outside of the United States?
Entries may be submitted by organizations from around the world. The only requirement is that entries be submitted in English.

May an organization or nominator enter more than one entry?
Yes. Enter as many categories as you like. One entry may also be entered in multiple categories if it meets the criteria. Each entry will require a separate entry fee.

Will you return my entry materials?
No.

Who judges the entries?
Our judges include the editorial staff of Ragan.com, PR Daily.com, and HR Communicator and Health Care Communications News.

When and where will the winners be announced?
We try to announce a list of finalists about 6 to 8 weeks after the close of the program. The announcement of the winners is usually about 3 or 4 weeks after the announcement of finalists.

Each category winner will be celebrated in a headlined news story on our website, in our daily email newsletter, and on our social media platforms. Emails will be sent to all the entrants to notify them of these announcements.

Will there be an award luncheon or live ceremony?
We are not planning on holding a live event for this contest.